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Celebrate the Year of the Ram this Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year begins today, and to celebrate the year of the ram here are 12 pieces featuring the 2015 animal. The debate as to whether the year should be referred to as goat, sheep, or ram can be complicated to grasp, but it all winds down to simple Chinese 101.

The character for both goat and sheep in the Chinese language is 陽 (yáng). To specify between each one, the character for mountain, shan ( 山 ) or soft, mián ( 面 ) is added before yang, for each animal respectively.

Therefore, mountain ( 山陽 ) yáng = goat and soft ( 面 陽 ) yáng = sheep. The phrase “Year of the Ram” came from countries like the U.S, Canada, and Australia. Appreciate all three or continue to battle for your favorite amongst family and friends.